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I get a error message when i plug it in, I didn't look there, but it is not present as a drive in "my computer".

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whats the error code?

2 things you might try....

1. download/Install TweakUI and click on My Computer, Drives,and make sure Drive F is checked

2. disable the Firewire 1394 connection under Network connections in Control Panel and restart


see if those help

[chilansl]

It could also be a drive letter issue.

Open disk management (Right click "My Computer" and select "manage", then look for disk management section.

If the external device is present in the list as a functional drive, right click it and select "assign drive letter or path" and pick a letter that is not in use. Say "k" or higher.

If you do not see the external disk in disk management, you most likely have a driver issue.

[MrGoutHimself]

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Stupid question, but did you "safely remove" the external HDD before disconnecting it from the old laptop? Some older hardware will leave holds on file systems on external drives or flash keys if you don't safely remove them. Do you still have the old laptop? Try connecting the hard drive again, safely remove the hardware, then try connecting it to new laptop.

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This might be the issue. I realized that that's exactly what i did, so i did as you just suggested. But it didn't work. Maybe i need to recreate the conditions on the old laptop so it can find it's place again.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll keep you posted.

[heywoodjablowme]

Ok; two questions, one might seem stupid.

1. The old laptop; what XP service pack was it at? Certain external drives greater than 137gb weren't seen until XP had at least service pack 1 (or 2) on it. Regardless, make sure it's at the latest SP level.

2. Stupid question time: Does the external drive have power to it? There are two kinds of externals. 3.5" and 2.5" (laptop externals). What I'm thinking is that there isn't enough juice going to the USB ports to power the drive, thus it may require an external power source. When you plug it in, does the drive spin up (do you hear it?). You tested the ports w/ a mouse and it worked, so it's not the port but probably not enough power to spin the drive up.

[heywoodjablowme]

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Don't worry about this. External drives can be setup to be yanked and moved from PC to PC.

^^^you sir, need to monitor this thread more closely, and be quicker with your replies, so the rest of us amateurs dont have to abuse our brains as much. solve some of these and maybe satan will grant you with a "tech wizard" avvy

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Both have SP3, and its an older (4yrs maybe) 100gb drive that has it's own power supply. And yes, it's plugged in.

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I'm seriously thinking of getting a new enclosure and sata drive, and start over.

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try a firmware update (if there is one) before buying a new enclosure. although a new enclosure will most likely fix it.